End welding device



Oct. 28, 1941. J D c EccA ET AL 2,260,969

END WELDING DEVICE Filed Sept. 4, 1940 I5 Sheets-Sheet v 46 FIE l vlNJULAT/O/V IN E T RS 30 45 J DLREccA, cow AND A.M.CANDY. BY i I ATTORNEY J. D. CRECCA ETAL END WELDING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 4,1940 lNVENgORS 50 d. D. Cezcc .Scorr AND E .M CANDK ATTORNEY Oct. 28,1941- J. D. cREccA ET AL.

END WELDI NG DEVI C E Filed Sept. 4, 1940 5 Sheets-$heet 3 53 WEL DINGCUEBE/VT GENEEA roe JDCREQCA Patented Oct. 28, 1941 END WELDING DEYIQEJohn D. Crecca, United States Navy, amuel S. Scott, St. Albans, N. Y.,and Albert M. Candy,

La Grange, Ill.

Application September- 4, 1940, Serial No. 3553mm 14 Claims.

This invention relates to means for end welding bolts, studs, etc., tometal members such as steel plates.

An object of this invention is to provide means for timing-the durationor the welding arc and automatically to move the piece to be welded intoweld relation with th member forming the other electrode; a furtherobject is to provide certain operating circuits that are particularlyadapted for operating the device as above mentioned.

These and other objects and the manner in which they are accomplishedwill become apparent from a perusal of the following description inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view, partly in longitudinal section, of oneembodiment of our invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are transverse sections on the lines 2--2 and 33 of Fig. 1respectively;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view, partially in longltudinal section, ofanother form of our invention;

'Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view of a modified form of the stop fordefining the position of the electrode before welding;

Fig. 6 is a transverse section on the line 6-3, Fig. 4; and

Figs. '7 and 8 are schematic representations of the circuits involved inFigs; 4 and 1, respectively. 7

The invention herein disclosed embodies cer tain improvements on thedevice shown in Letters Patent No. 2,115,707 to present applicantsCrecca and Scott. The method to be used therewith is that described inthe above mentioned patent wherein the-arc is established withoutconductive contact between the two parts to be welded together,utilizing the arc initiating material covered in Patent No.2,138,025 toapplicants Crecca and Scott.

Referring now to Fig. 1, our apparatus comprises a supporting frame 9having supporting legs I0, preferably three in number and asubstantially cylindrical body portion II internally threaded as shownat l2 and longitudinally split as shown at 13, the bolt 14 through earst5 serving to draw the body ll tightly upon the member threadedtherein."

Body II is split to i the bushing l6 is an insulating memberll which inturn has disposed in it a metal cylindrical member l8 having a radiallyextending flange I9.

Slidably mounted in the member I8 is a sleeve 20 having a radiallyextending flange 2| that serves as one abutment for spring 22 that restsat one end upon flange l9 and normallyurges the sleeve 20 away fromframe 8. Slidable in sleeve 20 is a plunger 23 having .a shoulder 24facing toward the shoulder 25 in sleeve 20. The spring 26 operates toseparate the shoulders 24 and 25 and, when sleeve 20 is held stationary,the plunger 23 may be moved'by spring 26 in a direction to effect theweld, as will be hereinafter described.

At one end of plunger 23 is fixed the adapter 21 in which is secured achuck 28 that carries the stud or bolt 29 to be end welded to plate 30.

Preferably, a skirt 3! is provided to prevent spat-' tering of moltenmetal upon the members carried in body H or frame 9 when the plate 30 isin a position other than substantially horizontal and under the feetof'the operator. Fig. 1 shows our device being used for end weldingstuds 29 to deck plate 30 of a ship to secure wooden planking 32 againstthe deck plate 30 and accordingly adapter 2'! is tapered at 33 to aid incentering the stud 28 in the hole in planking 32.

Handle 34 is secured to the end of sleeve 20 remote from frame 3 and isprovided with two fixed contacts 35 that are bridged by a conductivebridging member 36 on the adjacent end of plunger 23 when plunger 23 islocked in a predetermined relation with sleeve 20 by engagement ofspring pressed detent 31, carried by plunger 23 in the hole 38 in sleeve20. Mounted on handle 34 is a solenoid 39 having a movable core 40 thatis propelled outwardly when solenoid 39 is energized and this disengagesdetent 31, as will be more fully described in connection with theoperation of the device. Secured on flange I9 is a cylindrical member 4|having in it a slot 42 parallel to the axis thereof with a bolt 43adiustably securing a stop 44 to be engageable by flange 2| on sleeve20.

The operation of the device will now be described with reference toFigs. land 8. The stud 29 is pushed into resilient chuck 28 withaccompanying compression of spring 26 and movement of plunger 23 insleeve 20 until bridging member material, as is described in the abovementioned Patent No. 2,115,707.

Legs ID of frame 9 are then positioned against planking 32 and handle 34is moved down until the stud 29 is felt to be in contact with areinitiating material 45, bolt 43 having been previously freed to allowstop 44 to be moved along slot 42 by flange 2|. The operator thenpermits spring 22 to move sleeve 28 upwardly until the free end of stud29 is at the proper arc length from plate 38 and stop 44 is thenadjusted against flange 2|, thus fixing the position of sleeve 28 forthe series of welding operations.

When ready .to make a weld, the operator pushes handle 34 down untilflange 2| is against stop 44 and closes switch 48 by pushing on switchlever 46', thus completing the control circuit through contact 35,bridging member 38 and wire 41 to supply lead 48 and also through wire49 and solenoid 58 to supply lead The energizing of solenoid 58 closeswelding circuit contacts 52 and allows current to flow from weldinggenerator 53 through solenoid 54 to sleeve 28 through clip 55 and alsoto plate 38 through wire 58. Sleeve 28 is electrically connected toplunger 23 through its contact with the plunger and hence the weldingcircuit is established.

Spring 51 normally holds contact 58 away from contact 59 but whencurrent flows in the welding circuit solenoid 54 isenergized and core 88thereof, which is connected to the stem 8| upon which contact 58 ismounted, closes the circuit through the contacts 58 and 59 and energizessolenoid 82. Solenoid 82 closes the contacts 53 to energize solenoid 39and move core 48 to disengage detent 31 from sleeve 28 and thus permitspring 28 to thrust the stud 29 into the crater in plate 38. The timingmeans may be of any type known in the art and the action thereof isdelayed for the proper interval to permit the free end of stud 29 andthe juxtaposed portion of plate 38 to reach welding temperature.

When plunger 23 is moved by spring 28 to complete the weld, the controlcircuit is broken at contacts 35 which deenergizes solenoid 58 andpermits welding circuit contacts 52 to open, thus shutting off furtherflow of welding current.

Interruption of the welding current deenergizes solenoid 54 whichpermits spring 51 to separate contacts 58 and 59 and thus the timingcircuit is broken. Chuck 28 may then be withdrawn from stud 29 withoutdrawing an arc.

The form of our invention depicted in Fig. 4 is quite similar to thatillustrated in Fig. 1 and insofar as the elements in the two figures arethe same, they have been given the same reference numeral. However, inFig. 4 the sleeve 84 has at its upper end an inwardly turned flange 85that cooperates with a shoulder 58 on plunger 81 in effecting movementof plunger 8'! by the spring 28. At the upper end of plunger 81 is anenlarged head 58 that is engageable with a member 12 from connectingcontacts 13 after the weld is completed.

When stud 29 is inserted in chuck 28 plunger 81 is moved upwardly untilhead 88 passes toe 89 after which the spring 14 restores lever 18 to itsnormal position.

Assuming the device to be conditioned for welding operation, closing theswitch 48 completes the control circuit through contacts 13, bridgingmember 12 and wire 15 (Fig. 7) to supply lead 48 and also throughsolenoid 58 to supply lead 5|. Solenoid 58 closes welding contact 52 andthe fiow of welding current through solenoid 54 effects operation of thetiming circuit as above described. Flow of current in the timing circuitenergizes solenoid l8 and thrusts core 11 thereof against lever 18 toswing lever 18 on its pivot, thus releasing head 88 of plunger 81 fromtoe 89 and breaking the control through contacts 13. The plunger 81 isthus freed to be moved by spring 28 and bring stud 29 into weldingcontact with plate 38.

Instead of the stop 44, we may employ one such as is shown in Fig. 5. Itis to be understood that this form of stop is capable of use with eitherof the above described forms of our welding device. In Fig. 5 we show atubular member 18 secured to the nut 19 clamped against the clip 55.Member 18 has formed in it a slot 88, closed at both ends, of a lengthgreater than the desired movement of sleeve 84 with respect to the fixedparts of the device. Disposed in slot 88 is an eccentric cam 8| mountedon a shaft 82 that is rotatable in an externally threaded member 83 thatis adjustable in slot 84 in member 4|. The member 83 is flattened onopposite sides to prevent turning thereof in the slot 84 and has a head85 that engages the inner surface of member 4| and is drawn intoclamping engagement therewith by a wing nut 88 screwed on the member 83.

With the plunger 81 in cocked position as shown in Fig. 4, the wing nut86 is loosened and with the portion of greatest eccentric throw of cam8| in position to contact the lower end of slot 88, handle 34 is pusheddown until the stud 29 is felt in contact with are initiating material45. Wing nut 88 is then set up tight with said portion of maximum throwcontacting the lower end of the slot and the cam 8| is rotated to bringits portion of minimum eccentric throw into position to engage the lowerend of slot 88 which allows spring 22 to move the sleeve 84 upwardly adistance equal to the proper arc length and thereafter the steps in thewelding operation as above described. The length of slot 88 is sumoientto permit moving stud 29 down into contact with material 45, forchecking the arc length, even when cam 8| is in the last-mentionedposition. When the form of stop shown in Fig. 5 is used in connectionwith the device illustrated in Fig. 1, the member 18 is fixed to flange2|. Radially inward displacement of cam 8| is prevented by any desiredmeans, such as a collar 81 fixed on shaft 82 to bear against the outerend of member 83.

We claim:

1. A welding device, comprising a frame adapted to rest against a memberto which a piece is to be end-welded, spring abutment means carried bysaid frame, a sleeve slidably mounted in said frame, said sleeve havingexternal spring abutment means and an internal shoulder, a spring aroundsaid sleeve between said two abutment means to urge said abutmentsapart, a

plunger slidably mounted in said sleeve and having a shoulder facing thesaid shoulder in said sleeve, a spring around said plunger undercompression between said shoulders, a spring-actuated detent in saidplunger engageable with a hole in said sleeve to hold said plunger inpredetermined relation to said sleeve, a handle fixed to said sleeve,spaced contacts on said handle adjacent the junction of said sleeve withsaid handle, bridging conducting means insulatingly mounted on one endof said plunger to connect said contacts when said detent is engaged insaid hole, means on the other end of said plunger to hold said piece, astop carried by said frame engageable by the abutment on said sleevewhen said handle is depressed to position said piece at the proper arcdistance from said member; a welding circuit connected to supply currentto said piece and to said member including closable contacts and a firstsolenoid; a control circuit including a switch, said spaced contacts,said bridging means, and a second solenoid operable to close thecontacts in said welding circuit; a timing circuit including contactsconnected to said second solenoid to be closed by said second solenoidwhen said welding circuit is energized and means to disengage saiddetent from said sleeve after a time interval sufilcient for said pieceand the juxtaposed portion of said member to have reached welding heat,whereby to free said plunger to be moved by the spring therearound tobring said piece and said member into welding contact and to break thecircuit through the said spaced contacts on said handle.

2. A welding device, comprising a frame adapted to rest against a memberto which a piece is to be end-welded," spring abutment means carried bysaid frame, a sleeve slidably mounted in said frame, said sleeve havingexternal spring abutment means and an internal shoulder, a spring aroundsaid sleeve between said two abutment means to urge said abutmentsapart, a plunger slidably mounted in said sleeve and having a shoulderfacing the said shoulder in said sleeve, a spring around said plungerunder compression between said shoulders, a handle fixed to said sleeve,spaced contacts mounted on said handle, a lever pivoted intermediate itsends mounted on said handle, bridging conducting means insulatinglymounted on one end of said lever in position to connect said spacedcontacts, yieldable means to bias'said lever to hold said bridging meansagainst said spaced contacts, a

toe on the other end of said lever, an enlarged head on one end of saidplunger engageable with said toe to hold said plunger in predeterminedrelation to said sleeve, means on the other end of ,said plunger to holda said piece, a stop carried by said frame engageable by the abutment onsaid sleeve when said handle is depressed to position said piece at theproper arc distance from said member; a welding circuit connected tosupply currentto said piece and to said member including closablecontacts and a first solenoid;

a control circuit including a switch, said spaced plunger to be moved bythe spring therearound tobring said piece and said member into weldingcontact and to break the circuit through the said spaced contacts.

3. End-welding apparatus, comprising a frame adapted to rest against amember to which a piece is to be end-welded, a sleeve slidably mountedin said frame, a first resilient means to move said sleeve tonon-operating position in said frame, a plunger slidably mounted in saidsleeve, a second resilient means to move said plunger toward saidmember, means to lock said plunger in cocked position in said sleeve,circuitclosing elements held in circuit closing position when saidplunger is in cocked position, means on the end of said plunger adjacentsaid. member to hold a said piece, a stop carried by said frame to fixthe operating position of said sleeve with a said piece at the properarc distance from said member; a control circuit including said elementsand a switch; a welding circuit and means responsive to energization ofsaid control circuit to close said welding circuit; timing meansresponsive to energization of said welding circuit to release saidlocking means after a time interval sufilcient for said piece andthe'juxtaposed portion of said member to have reached welding heat andfree said plunger to be moved by said second resilient means tobring-said piece and said member into welding contact and open saidcontrol circuit through said elements.

4. Welding apparatus, comprising a frame adapted to rest against amember to which a.

piece is to be welded, a sleeve slidably mounted in said frame, aplunger slidably mounted in said sleeve, continuously acting means tourge said sleeve to non-operating position, releasable means to holdsaid plunger in cocked position in said sleeve; a welding circuit tosupply welding current to said piece and said member including means tointerrupt said welding circuit; a control circuit including circuitbreaking means held in closed position while said plunger is cooked, aswitch, and means to close said circuit interrupting means in saidwelding circuit; stop means to fix the operating position of said sleevewith a said piece carried by said plunger at the proper arc distancefrom said member, automatic means to release said plunger from cockedposition and simultaneously break said control circuit a time intervalafter closing said welding circuitsuilicient for said piece and thejuxtaposed portion of "said member to have reached welding heat, andmeans to move said plunger when released to bring said piece and saidmember into welding contact.

5.'Ari end welding system wherein an arc is initiated without conductivecontact of a member and a piece to be end-welded thereto, comprising asupporting frame adapted to rest against said member, a sleeve slidablein said frame, a plunger slidable in said sleeve, means on said plungerto carry a said piece, means to lock said plunger in predeterminedrelation to said sleeve; means to fix the operating position of saidsleeve so that said piece will be at the proper arc distance from saidmember including an element carried by said sleeve and having in it astantially touches said member and when the portion of minimum eccentricthrow contacts said end said piece is spaced the proper are distancefrom said member, means to supply welding current to said piece and saidmember, automatic means to unlock said plunger 9. predetermined timeinterval after closing of said welding circuit, and means to move saidplunger longitudinally, after release of said plunger, to move saidpiece into welded position.

6. An end-welding system wherein an arc is initiated without conductivecontact or a member and a piece to be end-welded thereto, comprising asupporting frame adapted to rest against said member, a sleeve slidablein said frame, a plunger slidable in said sleeve, means on said plungerto carry a said piece, means to lock said plunger in predeterminedrelation to said sleeve; means to fix the operating position of saidsleeve so that said piece will be at the proper arc distance from saidmember including an element carried by said sleeve and having in it aslot closed at both ends, an eccentric cam rotatably mounted on saidframe and disposed in said slot, means acting on said sleeve to hold incontact with said cam that end of said slot nearest said piece, said cambeing so dimensioned that when the portion of maximum eccentric throwcontacts the said end of said slot said piece substantially touches saidmember and when the portion of minimum eccentric throw contacts said endsaid piece is spaced the proper arc distance from said member, and meansto eifect welding of said piece to said member.

'7. An end-welding system wherein an arc is initiated without conductivecontact of a member and a piece to be end-welded thereto, comprising asupporting frame adapted to rest against said member, a sleeve slidablein said frame, a plunger slidable in said sleeve, means on said plungerto carry a said piece, means to lock said plunger in predeterminedrelation to said sleeve; means to fix the operating position of saidsleeve so that said piece will be at the proper arc distance from saidmember including an element carried by said sleeve and having in it aslot closed at both ends, a cam disposed in said slot, said cam being soshaped and dimensioned that in one position of said cam is said piece issubstantially in contact with said member and in another position ofsaid cam said piece is spaced the proper arc distance from said member,and means to effect welding of said piece to said member.

8. An end-welding system wherein an arc is initiated without conductivecontact of a member and a piece to be end-welded thereto, comprising asupporting frame adapted to rest against said member, an elementslidable in said frame, means carried by said element to hold a saidpiece; means to position a said piece for welding including a cammounted in said irame and operatively connected to said element, saidcam being so shaped and dimensioned that in one position of said cam thesaid piece is substantially in contact with said member and in anotherposition 01' said cam said piece is at the proper arc distance from saidmember, and means to efiect welding of said piece to said member.

9. An end-welding system wherein an arc is initiated without conductivecontact of a member and a piece to be end-welded thereto, comprising asupporting frame adapted torest against said member, an element slidablein said frame, means carried by said element to hold a said piece, meansfixed on said frame to cooperate with said element and fix the positionof said element with said piece at the proper arc distance from saidmember, circuit means to supply current to said system including acircuit portion carried by said element to be conductively included insaid circuit means when said piece is at said are distance but not soincluded when said element moves to a different position, and means toeifect welding of said piece to said member.

10. End welding apparatus, comprising a frame adapted to rest against amember to which a piece is to be welded, a plunger slidable in saidframe; a welding circuit including said member, a said piece, a sourceof welding current, welding circuit contacts and a solenoid; means toposition said plunger initially with a said piece carried thereby at theproper arc distance from said member, a pair of spaced contacts,conducting bridging means carried by said plunger to connect said spacedcontacts when said plunger is in said initial position; a controlcircuit including said spaced contacts and a solenoid connected to closesaid welding circuit contacts; a timing circuit including closablecontacts, a solenoid connected to close said closable contacts, andother contacts connected to be closable by the solenoid in said weldingcircuit to energize said timing circuit; means operable by current insaid timing circuit to release said plungenand means to move saidplunger upon release to bring said piece into welded relation with saidmember and simultaneously break the circuit through said spacedcontacts.

11. End welding apparatus, comprising a frame adapted to rest against amember to which a piece is to be welded, a plunger slidable in saidframe; a welding circuit including said member, a said piece, a source01 welding current, welding circuit contacts and a solenoid; means toposition said plunger initially with a said piece carried thereby at theproper arc distance from said member including an element engageablewith said plunger, conducting bridging means carried by said element; awelding circuit including said member, a said piece, welding circuitcontacts, and a solenoid; a control circuit including spaced contactsconnectlble by said bridging means and a solenoid connected to closesaid welding circuit contacts; a timing circuit including closablecontacts, a solenoid connected to close said closable contacts, andother contacts connected to be closable by the solenoid in said weldingcircuit to energize said timing circuit, whereby to release said plungerfrom said element and simultaneously break the circuit through saidspaced contacts, and means to urge said plunger to bring said piece intowelded relation with said member upon release of said plunger.

12. End welding apparatus, comprising a frame adapted to rest against amember to which a piece is to be welded, a plunger slidable in saidframe; a welding circuit including said member, a said piece, a sourceof welding current, welding circuit contacts and a solenoid; means toposition said plunger initially with a said piece carried thereby at theproper arc distance from said member, a pair of spaced contacts,conducting bridging means disposed to close the circuit through saidspaced contacts when said plunger is in said initial position; a weldingcircuit including said member, a said piece, welding circuit contacts,and a solenoid; a control circuit including said spaced contacts and asolenoid connected to close said welding circuit contacts; a timingcircuit including closable contacts, a solenoid connected to close saidclosable contacts, and other contacts connected to be closable by thesolenoid in said welding circuit to energize said timing circuit,whereby to release said plunger from said element and simultaneouslybreak the circuit through said spaced contacts, and means to urge saidplunger to bring said piece into welded relation with said member uponrelease of said plunger.

13. An end-welding device, comprising a movable plunger adapted to carrya piece to be endwelded, means to hold said plunger in cocked position,circuit-closing means associated with said plunger to be held inclosed-circuit position when said plunger is in cocked position, meansincluding said" circuit closing means operable to connect said plungerto a welding current source and after a predetermined time to releasesaid plunger from cocked position and break the circuit through saidcircuit closing means, and means to move said plunger to weldingposition when released.

14. An end-welding system wherein an arc is initiated without conductivecontact of a member and a piece to be end-welded thereto, comprising asupporting frame adapted to rest against said member, an elementslidable in said frame, means carried by said element to hold a saidpiece, means fixed on said frame to cooperate with said element and fixthe position of said element with said piece at the proper arc distancefrom said member, a welding circuit to supply welding current to saidpiece and said member, a control circuit to control the flow of weldingcurrent including a circuit portion carried by said element to beconductiveiy included in said control circuit when said piece is at saidare distance but not so included when said piece is moved to weldingposition, and means to effect movement of said piece to said weldingposition.

JOHN D. CRECCA. SAMUEL S. SCOTT. ALBERT M. CANDY.

